[5] Meanwhile, despite alleged rumors that abounded that his father had been murdered by the city leaders, Miltiades the Younger rose through the ranks of Athens to become eponymous archon under the rule of the Peisistratid tyrant Hippias in 524/23 BC.

Four years later (516 BC), Stesagoras met his death by an axe to the head,[8] so the tyrant Hippias sent Miltiades the Younger to claim his brother's lands.

[9] Stesagoras's reign had been tumultuous, full of revolts[1] often led by the native Dolonci, who after the death of Miltiades the Elder were no longer inclined to serve under Greek rule.

[11] In around 513 BC, Darius I, the king of Persia, led a large army into the area, forcing the Thracian Chersonese into submission and making Miltiades a vassal of Persian rule.

Thus, Miltiades initially faced a hostile reception for his tyrannical rule in the Thracian Chersonese and was put on trial.

[18] It was by Miltiades's advice that the Persian heralds who came to Athens to demand earth and water as tokens of submission were put to death.

[28] Miltiades got his men to quickly march to the western side of Attica overnight and block the two exits from the plain of Marathon, to prevent the Persians moving inland.

The theory is that the Persian cavalry left Marathon for an unspecified reason, and that the Greeks moved to take advantage of this by attacking.

This theory is based on the absence of any mention of cavalry in Herodotus's account of the battle, and an entry in the Suda dictionary.

When Datis surrendered and was ready for retreat, the Ionians climbed the trees and gave the Athenians the signal that the cavalry had left.

[29]The following year (489 BC), Miltiades led an Athenian expedition of seventy ships against the Greek-inhabited islands that were deemed to have supported the Persians.

His failure prompted an outcry on his return to Athens, enabling his political rivals to exploit his fall from grace.

[32] Pheidias later erected in Miltiades's honour, in the temple of the goddess at Rhamnus, a statue of Nemesis, the deity whose job it was to bring sudden ill fortune to those who had experienced an excess of good.